Many people are under-saving for retirement, after data revealed that nearly 4.5 million people were not enrolled in a workplace pension scheme.
Figures from the Pensions Regulator show that while four million workers are now in an automatic workplace pension plan, with compliance by more than 21,000 employers, there are still 4,443,000 workers who have not been enrolled.
The regulator revealed that 4,032,000 eligible jobholders have been automatically enrolled, 8.6 million workers were already members of a qualifying scheme and 423,000 eligible jobholders have had the defined benefit or hybrid scheme transitional arrangement applied to them.
The figures are also missing the nearly 4.5 million self-employed in the UK who don’t enjoy the benefits of auto-enrolment.
The DWP recently produced analysis which showed that 11.9 million people are undersaving for retirement, and it is understood that people should be saving at least 12% of their salary a year to a pension to enjoy a comfortable retirement.
Meanwhile employers need to find out urgently their auto enrolment staging date. An employer’s staging date is set in law, and they must file a declaration of compliance five months after this date.
Many thousands of employers have already completed their auto-enrolment duties, while the pensions regulator have begun the process of writing to hundreds of thousands of small employers informing them when they need to be ready to meet their new workplace pension duties.
Employees looking for pensions advice, or employers seeking help on auto enrolment compliance should contact Steve Vickers, Tax Partner on T: 0114 251 8850 or email: steve.vickers@hartshaw.co.uk for more information.